This
page is one of a series where I give my ideas on aspects of
Reiki.
They are intended to give some "food for thought" and are only my
viewpoint.
You will decide for yourself how much (if any) of the content feels
right
to you.

Many Reiki
Masters
consider the practice of Reiki to be a form of Conscious Channeling,
and
I agree with this, in part. But to begin such a topic it might
help
to define what I consider Conscious Channeling to be.

In the
1980's Sanaya
Roman and Duane Packer created a highly successful program called
"Opening
to Channel". At their
web pages they describe in detail the concept of channeling
and
conscious channeling.

"Channeling
is a
doorway into more love; the higher realms are abundant with love."

"Opening
your channel
to the higher realms will create an evolutionary leap for you, for
channeling
is a powerful means of spiritual unfoldment and conscious
transformation.
As you channel you build a bridge to the higher realms - a loving,
caring,
purposeful collective higher consciousness that has been called
God/Goddess,
the All-That-Is, or the Universal Mind.

"
When you "channel"
you access these higher realms by connecting with a high-level guide or
your higher self, who steps down this higher vibration and makes it
more
readily available to you. Channeling involves consciously
shifting
your mind and mental space in order to achieve an expanded state of
consciousness
that is called a "trance."

I have
found that
Conscious Channeling has really helped me in my Reiki practice, not to
mention elsewhere in my daily life. It's helped me to be more in
tune with students and clients, to get information or answers to
questions,
to set better energy spaces, to draw through me new and enhancing
energies.

First
Impressions

Originally
I thought
channeling involved allowing a higher spirit guide to connect with you
and then take over your body to a certain degree. Then the guide would
begin to speak through you and give very useful information, some of
which
may not have been known to many. In the past, many famous
channels
like Jane Roberts (Seth), Jach Pursell (Lazaris), etc. would
channel
this way. The channeler might have had an idea of what was being
said but they usually had to read the transcripts after, explaining
that
they seemed to leave their body (in astral form) and experience some
spiritual
growth in a different realm while the guide was channeling through
their
body.

Some
channels would
produce automatic writing, allowing their Guide to come in and then
take
over their handwriting or even their typing on the computer. While the
more famous channels always seemed to work with beings of Love and
Light,
most beginners still were concerned with connecting with beings that
were
not so evolved.

The current
methods
of teaching channeling (such as that by Roman and Packer) involve
techniques
where with the energetic support of the teachers (and their guides) you
only reach the high beings of Love and Light. Also you are no
longer
unaware of your channeling as you remain conscious of what is being
said
- hence you are a conscious channeler. This means that you do not
leave your body when the Guide comes in but you remain conscious and
aware
of everything that is occurring and being said. You simply
develop
a trust with the Being and allow it to speak or write through
you.
I found conscious channeling to be something like eavesdropping on a
conversation.
I may or may not be paying complete attention to the information I am
channeling. t

The
current methods of teaching channeling involve
techniques where ... you only reach the
high beings of Love and Light.

"How do you
recognize a high-level
guide? High guides encourage you to use your own wisdom and discernment
rather than blindly follow anything you are told. They never tell you
that
you "have to" do something or attempt to determine a direct outcome in
your personal life. They encourage you to develop and use your inner
strengths
and deeper wisdom. They encourage you not to give your power to them.
High-level
guides are often humble, and acknowledge that their truth is not the
only
truth. High-level guides may point out something that is not working in
your life, but they will do so in such a way that will make you feel
empowered
and strong."

Channeling
can also
take other forms such as in your art, music, inspiration, daily
guidance
and much more. While usually the Spirit that is channeled is
thought
of having a personality to it's consciousness, the personality can
sometimes
be very silent - almost dormant, as if existing in the background.

It is this
type of
channeling that I feel the Reiki energy can be thought of as. I
originally
found
that the Reiki energy would flow into and through me, simply through
the
act of my allowing it to do so. However, I did not detect a
forward
or up-front personality, a being that will interact with my
thoughts.
But it does seem to have a consciousness that allows it to follow my
own
intention of flow, and once it integrates with the target, it seems to
know where best to concentrate. Thus the Reiki "spirit" or source
seemed
to interact directly with my own higher consciousness (Higher Self) and
that of the person I share it with, knowing how and where it is best
suited
for the best results in the moment.

This may
not be the way Reiki was originally experienced in Usui Sensei's day,
but
it seems a good analogy for today. I feel that as the new Reiki
practitioner
integrates Reiki more and more, eventually she or he becomes or takes
on
this vibration. as if adding to one's music libary. Thus it is
simply an add-on to their own energy
field. This is how the URR
Gakkai

predict an
experienced practitioner would experience the
energy - they would become the Reiki energy. So too, when working
with your higher guides continually over time, one can take on some of
the abilities they initially take care of for you.

Channeling
Other
Healing Energies

When I first
began to channel I was
immediately
intrigued with the class exercises where we would ask our guides to
bring
in new or different energies for things like changing the energy in a
room
(adding calm, alertness, coolness or warmth, etc.), or assisting a
partner
with a specific healing energy. After class I wondered if I
could reach out and channel energies of certain types of healing
systems
for which I could not afford to take the classes. I was surprised at
how
clear these energies came in, and as with energies like Reiki, I found
the more I worked with them, the stronger they would get. I would
then test them out on Reiki Masters who were sensitive to energy and
found
that they would get similar results as the originator of the energies
had
predicted.

In one set of
experiences with
one of my
energy clairvoyant students, I inadvertently got authentication by the
founder of energies I had transferred known as Tera-Mai Seichem.
The founder tried to test out my student's version of this energy in
front
of an entire shamanic workshop she was about to take part in. My
student,
when
asked to compare energies, said that the energy from me was the same as
what the
founder had just given her. However, in cases like this, if I
have
not taken the actual training of a system, I do not advertise openly my
energies as being certified in that system.

1998
aura photo taken as I channeled one of my guides

Sometimes people
would write me
about
energies they had received or were working with. I found that
with
the help of my higher guides I could quickly pull these in and sample
them.
Over time I came to understand that I no longer had to take a class
just
to acquire a new energy I had heard about. I realised that if I
still
had the urge to take the class, it was because I most likely needed to
meet someone there, or I was going to eventually teach that style of
energy
work.

I suppose it
was due to my
curiosity about
these other energies that finally led my higher guides to automatically
connect me to these vibrations, as soon as they detected a curiosity in
me. I might be simply reading about the energy or watching
someone
display it, my curiosity activated, and suddenly I would feel the
energy
coming into me. Over time I found I could do this on my own - but
perhaps
this is just my guides working in the background with me.

Taking
Channeling
Into My Healing Work

Here are some
examples of how my
higher guides
began to work with me in my teaching and healing work.

Originally when
I gave a Reiki
session
I would ask my guides and those of the recipient to help me be aware of
the areas of need in the person's body. Eventually I found that
my
hands were being guided to certain locations and were even moving in
ways
I had not thought of. It was as though the guides were simply
taking
over the process, with my permission, and penetrating the complete aura
of the person as I worked.

Not long after
this, my guides
suggested
I channel through them (using them as sort of gate keepers) the
everyday
guides of the healing recipient. The gatekeeper concept simply
ensures
that no lower non-harmonious being or energies can pass through to
me.
My guides indicated that inviting them in would allow the recipient's
guides
to be more aware at the physical level the challenges existing within
the
person's body - something that apparently is not so evident from a
guide's
higher point of existence.

Having done
this, I was asked to
invite
the person's guides to flow, through my higher guide, any additional
healing
energies that they felt might be useful. This is always quite
interesting
to me as the new energies they flow have a different feel to them than
what I am used to.

I
was asked
to invite the person's guides to flow
through my
higher guide, any
additional healing
energies that
they felt might
be useful.

The combination of these methods
has resulted
in healing sessions that typically last between 10 and 15
minutes.
However, since I have promised the healing recipient at least a full
hour's
work, I usually then proceed to work around the body using more
standard
hand positions. I find this may help the subconscious of the
person
to recognise that I have indeed attended to a certain area, and there
is
the possibility that it will then release further any blocks related to
that part of the body or aura. All in all, it makes for very
satisfying
sessions.

Another way the
higher guides
assist is
to share information with me about the healing recipient. For
example,
I was taking part in a Reiki information booth at a local wellness
show.
We had 2 tables for people to receive sample Reiki sessions and a
couple
of chairs for friends to sit and wait. Often we might offer a
short
session to the person in the chair. I noticed a teenage girl
waiting
for her mother so I asked her if she would like to receive the same
energies
her mother was getting. She said yes so I simply rested my hands
on her shoulders and let Reiki flow from there.

Within a couple
minutes I was
getting some
information from my guides about her so I shared this and said to her
"You
see things that others do not see." She looked up at me,
surprised
and said "Not things. People." So I told her that the first thing
I had to share was that what she was seeing was real. She looked
at me with great relief and gratitude and said "Thank you!" I
then
explained to her how most people can see spirit when they are very
young,
but over time they allow the ability to slip away, usually due to the
fact
there is no ongoing support for them to retain this. This seemed
to really help her understand her abilities.

Taking
Channeling
Into My Teaching

Me
teaching a channeling class in Osaka, Japan (Nov. 2000)

An example of my higher guides
assisting
in other work is during my Reiki or channeling classes. Sometimes there
is a discussion or questions on a certain topic. In the middle of
explaining something I may find I am suddenly giving information that
is
completely new to me. When I finish talking I find I am actually
saying out loud something like "Wow, I never thought of that
before!"
The information feels completely new and yet it seems to explain
perfectly
what we were discussing. Again, I feel this comes from having
given
my guides permission so many times to share information with me or
through
me.

I also find
that in my smaller
classes
I am sharing information that is more in tune with what the student
actually
needs to hear or is interested in. In 2003 at a Reiki lecture
given
by Wanja Twan, I learned that Takata-sensei would often do something
like
this as well. Some of her Reiki historical ideas were actually
just
the result of her tuning into her students and recognizing a need for
am
anecdote to get a point across. But then she would always bring the
students
back to the moment by demonstrating the next hand position and saying
"Now
pay attention!"

Throughout the
class my guides
are welcome
to assist me, so they will show up during the meditations and the
attunements
and provide a calmer and more protective space. Since I also
offer
to the student access to their Highest
Ki, my guides and theirs will assist with connecting to the
individual
higher energies of each student.

...my
guides and
(the student's) will assist with
connecting to
the individual higher energies of each
student.

As the class proceeds I may ask
for certain
energies to fill the room depending on the moods or needs of the
students.
For example, in a master class, sometimes after lunch the students may
feel a bit slow due to all the energy of the day, and of course the
lunch-time
meal. So I may channel in energy to make people feel more alert
and
active. This helps to get through the afternoon and to pay
attention.
And as you are aware, the temperature can seem to change in the room as
you work with Reiki, so at times I may channel in cooling energies,
especially
when there is a lot of attunement practice.

The
Rest of My
Day

As Reiki is
what I do
to support my family, I find that I spend a lot of my day running the
energy
along with other energy systems I work with. Working with my
guides
by way of channeling adds to this process and often I simply invite my
guides to be with me. I also use the guides to build areas of
higher
Light vibration. I may fill a space in advance where I am going
to
spend some time in, or if I am standing in a slow line in a
store.
My guides help to assist people into a higher moment in time and things
seem to progress more smoothly or quickly.

"Guides
will choose a channel with a vocabulary or skill that will be a match
for
their work together. Scientific guides may choose channels with a
scientific
vocabulary. Artistic guides may choose artists. Philosophical guides
may
choose channels interested in philosophy, and so on. When guides
transmit
information outside of your vocabulary, they will search for the
closest
words you have available. That is why your guide may feel so much like
you when you, for there is a great alignment of energy and purpose."

There are
many other
ways that can be used, and sometimes it is just nice to be aware that
you
are not alone, that a very good friend or two is with you. In Japanese
life, the concept of everyone having kami or spirit with a person each
day, is a normal part of life. Thus Usui Sensei knew he was far
from
being alone as he meditated on Kuramayama, and as he taught and went
about
his daily work. Conscious Channeling may be one way for you to
accelerate
your own inner work and assist hose with whom you interact with on a
daily
basis.

For more
information
on this topic and information on my classes, visit my page called